France plans social media ban for children as UK mulls time limits
French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to ban social media for under-15s in France and introduce age verification for websites selling knives, as leaders across Europe seek to impose restrictions to protect children from harmful content online.
Speaking in the wake of the stabbing of a schoolteacher in Nogent by a 14-year old pupil on Tuesday, Mr Macron wrote on X: 'I'm banning social media for children under 15. Platforms have the ability to verify age. Let's do it."
Mr Macron told France 2 that the country 'cannot wait' for the European Union to act on proposals to limit the amount of time teenagers spend online.
He said that France could proceed alone 'in the coming months' if progress isn't made at the EU level.
He also announced that age verification will soon be imposed in France on sites selling knives online, similar to measures that currently apply to pornographic sites. "A 15-year-old will no longer be able to buy a knife online. That means we're going to impose massive financial sanctions and bans," he said.
In March, French police started random searches for knives and other weapons concealed in bags in and around schools.
A new French law forcing pornography websites to impose age verification came into effect last week, prompting key websites to start blocking French users. Demand for private network services, which conceal the user's location, surged in response.
French authorities are also attempting to force social media sites including X, Reddit, Bluesky and Mastodon to introduce age verification.
It comes as the UK juggles a newly launched national skills drive for young people to be trained in AI, with attempts to limit social media and smartphone use to protect children from harmful online content.
Technology secretary Peter Kyle said last week that the government was looking at restrictions, such as a two-hour social media cap and a 10pm curfew.
Campaigners say that more pressure should be put on social media companies to remove harmful content that gets recommended to children.
Elizabeth Clutton, a computer scientist and researcher at the University of Portsmouth, said the possible restrictions were 'fair' given the evidence of a mental health crisis in children being fuelled by social media use.
It was still compatible younger generations learning to use AI systems, after Mr Starmer unveiled the new AI skills drive for young people at London Tech Week.
'You have to look at the impact that peer pressure has, which is a big driving force on the mental health problem that these kids are having,' she told The National during the Tech week conference.
'It will help parents as well. If you set it as a blanket rule, there's no peer pressure. The scientific evidence is it's harmful. I do think people need that framework of support when it comes to younger generations.'
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